Slow Poison

NASHVILLE - Ever since 2016, St. Marys native Lori Triplett has had her heart set on releasing a follow-up to her 2009 sophomore album "Safe Place to Land."

Though she would release a handful of singles, plans for a major project fell through.

That's when the singer-songwriter took the bull by the horns. Through sheer force of will and financial support from fans, she found a way to independently record the six-song EP "Slow Poison," which will be released on Friday on CD and online platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

"I had some people that were interested in investing in me to do a project and that didn't work out, and I was just waiting for the green light from a few people," she said. "In doing that, really I wasn't putting out anything new. I had a bunch of songs … but I was just sitting on them."

Tripplet, 37, had sacrificed too much for her art, having moved away from family and good friends, to wait any longer. She also had much to say and share with the world.

"All that really matters is, 'What do I think of the song? Does it say something important? Is it a well-written song?'" Triplett said. "If yes, then let's go."

Tripplet found a producer and hit the studio, resulting in a collection of keenly introspective, confessional songs touching on love, loss and redemption in a time of profound unease and uncertainty.

"Even though that was frustrating … I think the timing of this coming out and what I'm singing about is actually really timely and perfect," Triplett said.

Indeed, songs "Slow Poison" and "Same Pain" sound downright topical given the political and social tension tearing America apart and a raging pandemic inflicting untold suffering. But it turns out the songs were conceived prior to 2020.

"That's what's crazy about all of this," she said about the songs taking on a new immediacy and relevance amid the chaos and vitriol gripping the nation today.

The songs aim to console and heal, to affirm the imperative of treating others with empathy and understanding in spite of differences in beliefs.

"These songs are really personal to me. They're kind of a journey about finding a love and respect for yourself and then turning that into a way to love other people," Triplett said.

The song "Same Pain" is Triplett's attempt to relate to and express the broad sense of pain felt by all.

"With everything going on, all the division and uncertainty, I really wanted to put something out there that helped people feel less alone, and I had a lot of people send me their stories," she said.

Triplett devised a stop-animation video for the single that weaves together snippets of the stories submitted by fans.

"I think people are anxious to be understood and to share their story,' she said of the outpourings. "I think people want to share what they're going through."

"Slow Poison" also finds Triplett moving beyond the categorization of Christian artist.

"I'm still a believer. That didn't go anywhere," she explained. "But what I have found just being here in Nashville and working closely in the Christian music scene is you're restricted as an artist in what you can sing about, what you can say, and I just felt like I had so many other things to say that were important."

Freeing herself from the pressure of comporting to genre expectations, Triplett was able to tackle other topics.

"In my experience, the Christian music industry doesn't want that full array of colors, it just wants one color," she said. "For me to really grow as an artist and songwriter - and really get the message that I want to put out there of love and being kind to one another - the way to go is secular for me - not just trying reaching people that are already believers, you want to reach everybody."

Along with a new approach to songwriting, the EP displays Triplett's exploring new sonic territory. Electronic elements add a new ethereal dimension, enveloping Triplett's plaintive songs that are still firmly grounded with traditional instruments.

"I think this still is organic sounding, but I think it's probably one of the first times people will hear (electronic atmospherics) in my music," she said. "This project is like really the first intentional step away from the Christian music scene, so I really just wanted to kind of experiment a little bit with the sound on this one."

Triplett found an ideal collaborator in producer and multi-instrumentalist Chad Carouthers, who was able to give form and shape to the visions in Triplett's mind, she said.

"I brought him a batch of songs that I was considering for the project," Triplett said. "In the past I've always wrote mainly from piano, but this project specifically I wrote every song on an acoustic guitar, which opened up, I think, a different style of writing in me."

To learn more about Triplett or buy her new EP, visit https://www.loritriplett.com. She also plans to release a Christmas EP in the near future.

Physical copies of Triplett's entire discography will also be sold at the Minster Bank in St. Marys, where Triplett had worked as a teller.

She thanked local residents for their support over the years.

"A lot of people in the area helped me fund the ("Slow Poison") project by giving to my campaign I launched a few years ago, and so they really helped make this possible for me," she said.